The 22nd Fighter Squadron, sometimes written as 22d Fighter Squadron, (22 FS) is an inactive

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Air force, air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its ori ...

unit. It was last assigned to the 52nd Operations Group and stationed at

Spangdahlem Air Base Spangdahlem Air Base (International Air Transport Association airport code, IATA: SPM, International Civil Aviation Organization airport code, ICAO: ETAD, former code EDAD) is a NATO air base with the United States Air Force as a tenant constru ...

, Germany. Originally constituted as the ''22nd Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor)'' in 1939, it first deployed to the Caribbean before deploying to England and Europe from 1944. After

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the unit returned to its prewar mission defending the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

, before once again deploying to Europe in 1948. It remained there until 1991, at which time some parts of the squadron redeployed to Saudi Arabia and Turkey. The squadron was inactivated in 2010 to combine with the

23rd Fighter Squadron The 23d Electronic Warfare Squadron (23 EWS) is an active United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 350th Spectrum Warfare Group and stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. It was most recently activated on 18 April 2025. The 23 ...

and was redesignated the 480th Fighter Squadron. At various times during its existence, the squadron has gone by the colloquial names "Stingers", "Adlers", "Bees", "Bumblebees" and "The BIG 22: Last of the Red Hot Fighter Squadrons".

History

World War II

Antilles Air Command

The 22d Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) was constituted on 22 December 1939, and activated in February 1940 at Langley Field, Virginia. Flying the

Curtiss P-36 Hawk The Curtiss P-36 Hawk, also known as the Curtiss Hawk Model 75, is an American-designed and built fighter aircraft of the 1930s and 40s. A contemporary of the Hawker Hurricane and Messerschmitt Bf 109, it was one of the first of a new generation ...

, the squadron was one of several deployed to the Caribbean (later

Antilles Air Command The Antilles Air Command is a disbanded United States Army Air Forces unit. Its last assignment was with Sixth Air Force, based at Borinquen Field, Puerto Rico, where it was inactivated on 25 August 1946. Engaged in antisubmarine operations ...

) and being stationed on bases established as part of the 1940 Destroyers for Bases Agreement with Great Britain. The squadron left from

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Virginia. It had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of cities in Virginia, third-most populous city ...

on 1 February 1940 with several others bound for

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

aboard the USAT Chateau Thierry from Norfolk for what turned into 29 months of overseas service, taking station at Ponce (later Losey Field) on 6 January 1941. After its arrival at Ponce, the Squadron converted from the P-36A to

Curtiss P-40 Warhawk The Curtiss P-40 Warhawk is an American single-engined, single-seat, all-metal fighter-bomber that first flew in 1938. The P-40 design was a modification of the previous Curtiss P-36 Hawk which reduced development time and enabled a rapid entry ...

. After the

Pearl Harbor Attack The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Empire of Japan on the United States Pacific Fleet at its naval base at Pearl Harbor on Oahu, Hawaii, on December 7, 1941. At the ti ...

on 7 December 1941, the Squadron was placed on 24-hour alert status and, the Squadron's P-40E's were flown to Howard Field, in the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone (), also known as just the Canal Zone, was a International zone#Concessions, concession of the United States located in the Isthmus of Panama that existed from 1903 to 1979. It consisted of the Panama Canal and an area gene ...

to reinforce the defense units of the

. The squadron returned to Ponce without aircraft, and upon their return, the squadron received some Bell P-39D Airacobras which were flown to

from the United States which joined the single example which had been on hand since at least June 1941. On 13 December, the unit Headquarters moved from Ponce to Vega Baja Airfield, an auxiliary aerodrome in Puerto Rico, to provide better interception coverage for the island. Operations during most of the remainder of 1942 are vague, but involved very extensive over-water flying and many scrambles in response to reported

U-boat U-boats are Submarine#Military, naval submarines operated by Germany, including during the World War I, First and Second World Wars. The term is an Anglicization#Loanwords, anglicized form of the German word , a shortening of (), though the G ...

sightings, the vast majority of which turned up negative. A detachment of three P-39Ds was operating at Beane Field,

St. Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

by 28 February 1942 while the detachment at Waller Field. The unit was redesignated as the 22d Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942. On 2 September 1942, a detachment of the 32d Fighter Squadron which had been stationed at Curacao and

Aruba Aruba, officially the Country of Aruba, is a constituent island country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, in the southern Caribbean Sea north of the Venezuelan peninsula of Paraguaná Peninsula, Paraguaná and northwest of Curaçao. In 19 ...

was transferred outright to the 22d Fighter Squadron, but continued on at their stations on detached assignment. The detachment at Aruba was further attached to the 12th Bombardment Squadron and the detachment at Curacao was attached to the 59th Bombardment Squadron. The larger 22d Fighter Squadron detachment in

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger, more populous island of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, the country. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is the southernmost island in ...

engaged in extensive

antisubmarine Anti-submarine warfare (ASW, or in the older form A/S) is a branch of underwater warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, submarines, or other platforms, to find, track, and deter, damage, or destroy enemy submarines. Such operations a ...

activities. With the Navy taking over the antisubmarine mission, the squadron was redeployed back to the United States, moving to Morrison Field, Florida by 27 May 1943.

Ninth Air Force

Transferred to III Fighter Command in June 1943, began training for deployment to the

European Theater of Operations The European Theater of Operations, United States Army (ETOUSA) was a Theater (warfare), theater of Operations responsible for directing United States Army operations throughout the European theatre of World War II, from 1942 to 1945. It command ...

as a

Republic P-47 Thunderbolt The Republic P-47 Thunderbolt is a World War II-era fighter aircraft produced by the American company Republic Aviation from 1941 through 1945. It was a successful high-altitude fighter, and it also served as the foremost American fighter-bombe ...

fighter-bomber squadron. Deployed to England in April 1944 as part of

IX Fighter Command The IX Fighter Command was a United States Army Air Forces formation. Its last assignment was with the Ninth Air Force, based at Erlangen, Germany, where it was inactivated on 16 November 1945. IX Fighter Command was the primary tactical fight ...

. Initial missions included strafing and dive-bombing armored vehicles, trains, bridges, buildings, factories, troop concentrations, gun emplacements, airfields, and other targets in preparation for the

invasion of Normandy Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allied operation that launched the successful liberation of German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. The operation was launched on 6 June 1944 ( D-Day) with the ...

. The squadron also flew some escort missions with

Eighth Air Force The Eighth Air Force (Air Forces Strategic) is a numbered air force (NAF) of the United States Air Force's Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC). It is headquartered at Barksdale Air Force Base, Louisiana. The command serves as Air Forces S ...

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress The Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress is an American four-engined heavy bomber aircraft developed in the 1930s for the United States Army Air Corps (USAAC). A fast and high-flying bomber, the B-17 dropped more bombs than any other aircraft during ...

and

Consolidated B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models desi ...

strategic bombers. On

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during the Second World War. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

the squadron patrolled the air over the landing zones and by flying close-support and interdiction missions. Moved to its Advanced Landing Ground at Brucheville Airfield, France in July, then eastward as ground forces advanced on the continent. Operations supported the breakthrough at

Saint-Lô Saint-Lô (, ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northwest France, the capital of the Manche department in the region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy.United States Third Army toward Germany in August and September as part of the 303d Fighter Wing, XIX Tactical Air Command. In October, the squadron moved into Belgium to support

Ninth United States Army The Ninth Army was a field army of the United States Army, most recently garrisoned at Caserma Ederle, Vicenza, Italy. It was the United States Army Service Component Command of United States Africa Command (USAFRICOM or AFRICOM). Activated just ...

. Participated in the

Battle of the Bulge The Battle of the Bulge, also known as the Ardennes Offensive or Unternehmen Die Wacht am Rhein, Wacht am Rhein, was the last major German Offensive (military), offensive Military campaign, campaign on the Western Front (World War II), Western ...

during December 1944 and January 1945 by flying armed reconnaissance and close-support missions. Aided

First United States Army First Army is the largest OC/T organization in the U.S. Army, comprising two divisions, ten brigades, and more than 7,500 Soldiers. Its mission is to partner with the U.S. Army National Guard and U.S. Army Reserve to enable leaders and deli ...

's push across the Roer River in February 1945. Supported operations at the Remagen bridgehead and during the airborne assault across the Rhine in March. Also, during 1945, the 22nd received its squadron emblem, designed by

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was founded on October 16 ...

(known as Walt Disney Productions at the time). By

V-E Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

, the squadron was based at

Kassel-Rothwestern Airfield Kassel-Rothwesten Airfield is a former military airfield located in Rothwesten, a part of Fuldatal in Germany about north-northeast of Kassel (Hessen); approximately southwest of Berlin. Then known as ''Fliegerhorst Kassel'', the facility w ...

, Germany, where it remained until February 1946 as part of the

United States Air Forces in Europe United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

Army of Occupation. In February, the unit was transferred, without personnel or equipment to

Bolling Field The origins of the surname Bolling: English language, English: from a nickname for someone with close-cropped hair or a large head, Middle English bolling "pollard", or for a heavy drinker, from Middle English bolling "excessive drinking". German ...

, Washington, D.C where it was inactivated as a paper unit. 22d Fighter Squadron - Lockheed P-80B-1-LO Shooting Star - 45-8634

Reactivated in October 1946 under Caribbean Air Command in the Canal Zone, returning to its prewar mission of the defense of the Panama Canal. The squadron conducted air defense training missions for the next two years initially with P-47's. The squadron upgraded to jet aircraft in December 1947 with the arrival of the

Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star is the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. Designed and built by Lockheed in 1943 and delivered just 143 days from the start of design, two p ...

. As a result of the

Berlin Blockade The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War. During the multinational occupation of post–World War II Germany, the Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway, roa ...

and other

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

tensions in Europe, the squadron was deployed to Germany and was reassigned to United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) during August 1948, becoming part of the third F-80 jet group assigned to USAFE. At

Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base Fürstenfeldbruck Air Base ( German: "Fliegerhorst Fürstenfeldbruck" or "Flugplatz Fürstenfeldbruck") is a former German Air Force airfield near the town of Fürstenfeldbruck in Bavaria, near Munich, Germany. Fürstenfeldbruck became famous fir ...

tactical operations included air defense, tactical exercises, maneuvers, and photographic reconnaissance. Upgraded to new Republic F-84E Thunderjets in 1950. Note, blue diagonal stripes were the markings of the 36th FBG, the red nose and tip tanks being colored red were the squadron markings. The squadron remained at Fürstenfeldbruck until 1952 when it was reassigned to the new Bitburg Air Base, west of the

Rhine River The Rhine ( ) is one of the major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Swiss-Austrian border. From Lake Cons ...

near the French border in the

Eifel mountains The Eifel (; , ) is a low mountain range in western Germany, eastern Belgium and northern Luxembourg. It occupies parts of southwestern North Rhine-Westphalia, northwestern Rhineland-Palatinate and the southern area of the German-speaking Com ...

, near the town of Birtburg, Germany. 22d Fighter-Bomber Squadron - Republic F-84E-10-RE Thunderjet - 49-2223

22d Tactical Fighter Squadron - Republic F-105D-10-RE Thunderchief - 60-0438

Bitburg Air Base

In August 1953, the North American F-86F Sabre was introduced to the squadron, replacing the F-84s. In 1956, the squadron received the

North American F-100 Super Sabre The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft designed and produced by the aircraft manufacturer North American Aviation. The first of the Century Series of American jet fighters, it was the first United ...

, marking the first time a wing in USAFE flew supersonic jets. On 15 May 1958, the squadron was re-designated as the 22nd Tactical Fighter Squadron and was part of the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing along with the 23rd Tactical Fighter Squadron (until 1972), 53rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, and

525th Tactical Fighter Squadron The 525th Fighter Squadron is a United States Air Force unit. It is assigned to the 3rd Operations Group at Joint Base Elmendorf–Richardson, Alaska. The squadron was first activated as the 309th Bombardment Squadron in February 1942. After t ...

. Two notable 22nd pilots during this period were

Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin ( ; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three extravehicular activity, spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission, and was the Lunar Module Eag ...

and Ed White, who later became

Project Gemini Project Gemini () was the second United States human spaceflight program to fly. Conducted after the first American crewed space program, Project Mercury, while the Apollo program was still in early development, Gemini was conceived in 1961 and ...

and

Apollo Project The Apollo program, also known as Project Apollo, was the United States human spaceflight program led by NASA, which Moon landing, landed the first humans on the Moon in 1969. Apollo followed Project Mercury that put the first Americans in sp ...

astronauts. In May 1961, received the

Republic F-105 Thunderchief The Republic F-105 Thunderchief is an American fighter-bomber that served with the United States Air Force from 1958 to 1984. Capable of Mach 2, it conducted the majority of strike bombing missions during the early years of the Vietnam War. It ...

and continued to carry on its

mission of tactical nuclear weapons delivery. Twice in the early 1960s when Cold War tensions were elevated due to the 1961 Berlin Wall crisis and 1962

Cuban Missile Crisis The Cuban Missile Crisis, also known as the October Crisis () in Cuba, or the Caribbean Crisis (), was a 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of Nuclear weapons d ...

the squadron rose to a high level of alert. The squadron was upgraded to the

McDonnell F-4 Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber that was developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bowers ...

in 1966. The squadron was upgraded to the McDonnell Douglas F-15A Eagle in April 1976. In 1980 more advanced F-15Cs and F-15Ds replaced the original F-15As. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, the squadron conducted routine training missions and contributed aircraft and pilots to the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing'
Zulu Alert
facility during the

. When the F-15s first arrived at Bitburg AB, a German "wild park" (zoo) came to the squadron and "adopted" it. The squadron designed an alternative emblem along with full-color aircrew patches with an eagle (animal) and US Flag on it and were dubbed the "Adlers" (which is German for eagle). For a time in the late seventies and early eighties the "Adler" name and emblem were used exclusively within the "ops" portion of the squadron, while the attached maintenance unit retained the "Stingers" name and emblem. In 1982, a new squadron commander made the unpopular decision that the "Adler" patch would no longer be used, and reinstate the Walt Disney "Bumblebee" patch, which was the official patch. F-15C 80-0031 Operation Provide Comfort

Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm

After the

Invasion of Kuwait The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, codenamed Project 17, began on 2 August 1990 and marked the beginning of the Gulf War. After defeating the Kuwait, State of Kuwait on 4 August 1990, Ba'athist Iraq, Iraq went on to militarily occupy the country fo ...

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

in August 1990, the squadron was put on heightened readiness status awaiting possible deployment to the Gulf Region. At the time of the invasion, the 22nd Fighter Squadron was involved in the MSIP (Multi-Stage Improvement Program) upgrade of their F-15s and could not be deployed as a coherent unit. During December 1990, those aircraft that had completed upgrades, along with pilots and maintainers from the 22nd AMU (Aircraft Maintenance Unit), augmented their sister squadron, the 53rd Tactical Fighter Squadron, for deployment to Al Kharj AB,

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

in support of Operations Desert Shield and later

Desert Storm , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. In January 1991, many of the remaining aircraft, pilots and maintainers from the squadron deployed to Incirlik AB,

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

along with their other sister squadron, the

, and the F-15s of the 32nd Tactical Fighter Squadron from Soesterberg AB,

The Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. Despite their reduced numbers, the 22nd's remaining pilots and maintainers at Bitburg continued to provide aircraft for the Zulu Alert facility, as well as provided support for non-squadron F-15s en route to the war zone. In all locations, the aircraft and personnel of the 22nd Tactical Fighter Squadron performed amazing feats under demanding conditions. Not a single F-15 aircraft was lost in combat during the war and several returned with credited kills. Aircraft tail number 79-0078, one of the squadron's Al Kharj deployed aircraft, was credited with two

Mig-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nicknames in ...

kills on 6 February 1991. Aircraft tail number 79-0022, one of the squadron's aircraft deployed to Incirlik, was credited with a

Mig-23 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-23 (; NATO reporting name: Flogger) is a variable-geometry fighter aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich design bureau in the Soviet Union. It is a third-generation jet fighter, alongside similar Soviet aircra ...

kill on 28 January 1991 and is currently on display, along with other squadron memorabilia, at the Pueblo Weisbrod Aircraft Museum in

Pueblo Pueblo refers to the settlements of the Pueblo peoples, Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, currently in New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas. The permanent communities, including some of the oldest continually occupied settlement ...

Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States. It is one of the Mountain states, sharing the Four Corners region with Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah. It is also bordered by Wyoming to the north, Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas ...

. In March 1991, the Incirlik-deployed squadron returned to Bitburg AB. They were followed by the last members of the Al Kharj deployment in July 1991.

Operation Provide Comfort

The end of Operation Desert Storm marked the beginning of Operation Provide Comfort and once again the 36th Tactical Fighter Wing, including the 22nd, was tasked with providing aircraft and personnel in support of Operation Provide Comfort and later Operation Provide Comfort II. This included enforcement of the northern and southern Iraqi no-fly zones and protection of

Kurds Kurds (), or the Kurdish people, are an Iranian peoples, Iranic ethnic group from West Asia. They are indigenous to Kurdistan, which is a geographic region spanning southeastern Turkey, northwestern Iran, northern Iraq, and northeastern Syri ...

in the northern region. While still deployed to Al Kharj, F-15C tail number 84-0014, an aircraft belonging to the 53rd TFS, but flown by 22nd pilot John "Nigel" Doneski, downed an

Su-22 The Sukhoi Su-17 (''izdeliye'' S-32; NATO reporting name: Fitter) is a variable-sweep wing fighter-bomber developed for the Soviet Union, Soviet military. Developed from the Sukhoi Su-7, the Su-17 was the first variable-sweep wing aircraft to ent ...

in violation of the southern no-fly zone. In 1993, long after the squadron had been re-united in the middle of 1991, the 22nd returned to Incirlick as part of its ongoing commitment to Operation Provide Comfort II.

Spangdahlem Air Base

In the spring of 1994, as a result of the military post-Cold War draw down worldwide, the decision was made to close the operations portion of Bitburg Air Base and to send the squadron's F-15C/Ds and some of its personnel to

RAF Lakenheath Royal Air Force Lakenheath or RAF Lakenheath is a Royal Air Force List of Royal Air Force stations, station near the village of Lakenheath in Suffolk, England, UK, north-east of Mildenhall, Suffolk, Mildenhall and west of Thetford. The insta ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Other personnel were absorbed by the 53rd Fighter Squadron ("Tactical" had been removed in the new post-Cold War era), which was moving to Spangdahlem, or assigned to other F-15 squadrons worldwide. However, the squadron's colors were transferred to

, Germany, on 1 April 1994. Once at Spandahlem, the 480th Fighter Squadron's colors were retired and the 22d's were assumed. The 22d then took on the mission, personnel and aircraft of the former 480th which flew the Block 50 F-16CJ, the Air Force's latest version of the Fighting Falcon. In 1998, the 22d transitioned from a primary general-purpose air interdiction squadron to its new primary mission as a Wild Weasel unit performing suppression of enemy air defenses. The squadron's most current version of the F-16 was outfitted with the high-speed anti-radiation missiles (HARM), GPS guided-inertial aided munitions, and the HARM targeting system. 22d Fighter Squadron - General Dynamics F-16C Block 50B Fighting Falcon - 90-0829

22d Fighter Squadron - General Dynamics F-16C Block 50B Fighting Falcon - 90-0829

Peacekeeping operations

The 22d was quickly put into combat with its new capability when it deployed to

Operation Northern Watch Operation Northern Watch (ONW), the successor to Operation Provide Comfort, was a Combined Task Force (CTF) charged with enforcing its own no-fly zone above the 36th parallel in Iraq. Its mission began on 1 January 1997. The coalition partn ...

in January 1999, and engaged Iraqi radars with 12 HARMs while protecting coalition assets during heightened tensions with Iraq. After three months flying Operations Northern Watch missions, the squadron was retasked and returned to Spangdahlem Air Base where they flew combat missions into northern Yugoslavia protecting

Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk The Lockheed F-117 Nighthawk is an officially retired American single-seat, subsonic, twin-engined, stealth attack aircraft developed by Lockheed's secretive Skunk Works division and operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). It was ...

s and

B-2 Spirit The Northrop B-2 Spirit, also known as the Stealth Bomber, is an American Heavy bomber, heavy strategic bomber, featuring low-observable stealth aircraft, stealth technology designed to penetrator (aircraft), penetrate dense anti-aircraft war ...

s striking key military targets in and around

Belgrade Belgrade is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers and at the crossroads of the Pannonian Basin, Pannonian Plain and the Balkan Peninsula. T ...

, Yugoslavia, in support of

Operation Allied Force The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999. The bombings continued until an a ...

. The pilots of the 22d flew combat missions over Yugoslavia and fired 202 HARMs at Serbian radars. In addition, the squadron performed its secondary and tertiary missions, employing 16 Mk-84s on key military targets while providing air superiority. In December 2000 to March 2001, the squadron was assigned to Air Expeditionary Force 9. It regularly flew combat missions in support of Operations Northern and

Operation Southern Watch Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from August 1992 to March 2003. United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of moni ...

Operation Enduring Freedom

In response to U.S. presidential directives, following the

11 September attacks The September 11 attacks, also known as 9/11, were four coordinated Islamist terrorist suicide attacks by al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. Nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing the first two into ...

22d provided fighter escort to

Boeing C-17 Globemaster III The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) between the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two previ ...

over Afghanistan during

humanitarian relief Humanitarian aid is material and logistic assistance, usually in the short-term, to people in need. Among the people in need are the homeless, refugees, and victims of natural disasters, wars, and famines. The primary objective of humanitarian a ...

missions, within 100 hours of notification, as part of

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

. This effort served as the template for USAFE's Euro Lightning operations concept.

Operation Iraqi Freedom

In January 2003, the squadron forward deployed as the 22d Expeditionary Fighter Squadron to

Southwest Asia West Asia (also called Western Asia or Southwest Asia) is the westernmost region of Asia. As defined by most academics, UN bodies and other institutions, the subregion consists of Anatolia, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Mesopotamia, the Armenia ...

in support of U.S. Central Command and flew combat missions during

Operation Iraqi Freedom The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with the invasion by a United States-led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist governm ...

. The squadron played a key role during the 27-day air war by fulfilling its "Wild Weasel" mission of suppressing enemy air defenses and destroying Iraqi radar sites. Nick Lachey at Ramstein1

In April 2010 20 F-16Cs were flown from Spangdahlem to the 148th Fighter Wing of the Minnesota Air National Guard, one F-16 was transferred to

Edwards Air Force Base Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, California, Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County, California, San Bernardino County and a souther ...

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. All aircraft were from the 22d Fighter Squadron. As a result of the drawdown of F-16s, the 22d and 23rd Fighter Squadrons were inactivated on 13 August 2010 and formed the a single "new" squadron, the 480th Fighter Squadron.

Lineage

* Constituted as the 22nd Pursuit Squadron (Interceptor) on 22 December 1939 : Activated on 1 February 1940 : Redesignated 22nd Fighter Squadron on 15 May 1942 : Redesignated 22nd Fighter Squadron, Single Engine on 20 August 1943 : Inactivated on 31 March 1946 * Activated on 15 October 1946 : Redesignated 22nd Fighter Squadron, Jet Propelled on 27 October 1947 : Redesignated 22nd Fighter Squadron, Jet on 17 June 1948 : Redesignated 22nd Fighter-Bomber Squadron on 20 January 1950 : Redesignated 22nd Fighter-Day Squadron on 9 August 1954 : Redesignated 22nd Tactical Fighter Squadron on 8 July 1958 : Redesignated 22nd Fighter Squadron on 1 October 1991 : Inactivated on 13 August 2010

Assignments

* 36th Pursuit Group (later 36th Fighter Group), 1 February 1940 – 31 March 1946 * 36th Fighter Group (later 36th Fighter-Bomber Group 36th Fighter-Day Group), 15 October 1946 (attached to 36th Fighter-Day Wing after 1 October 1956) * 36th Fighter-Day Wing (later 36th Tactical Fighter Wing, 36th Fighter Wing), 8 December 1957 * 36th Operations Group, 31 March 1992 *

52d Operations Group The 52d Operations Group is the flying component of the 52d Fighter Wing, assigned to the United States Air Forces in Europe - Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA). The group is stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany. Overview The 52d Opera ...

, 1 April 1994 – 13 August 2010

Stations

* Langley Field, Virginia, 1 February 1940 * Losey Field, Puerto Rico, 6 January 1941 * Vega Baja Airfield, Puerto Rico, 13 December 1941 (detachment operated from Waller Field, Trinidad after 6 December 1941) * Waller Field, Trinidad, Oct 1942 : Detachment operated from: Dakota Field, Aruba, 2 September 1942-Apr 1943 : Detachment operated from: Hato Field, Curacao, 2 September 1942-Apr 1943 : Detachment operated from: Zandery Field, Dutch Guyana, 16 September 1942 – 16 February 1943 * Morrison Field, Florida, 27 May 1943 * Mitchel Field, New York, 4 June 1943 * Charleston Army Air Field, South Carolina, 21 June 1943 * Alamogordo Army Air Field, New Mexico, 17 September 1943 * Scribner Army Air Field, Nebraska, 26 November 1943-Mar 1944 * RAF Kingsnorth (AAF-418),Station number in Anderson. England, 5 April 1944 * Brucheville Airfield (A-16),Station number in Johnson. France, 3 August 1944 * Le Mans Airfield (A-35), France, c. 5 September 1944 * Athis Airfield (A-76), France, 23 September 1944 * Juvincourt Airfield (A-68), France, 5 October 1944 * Le Culot Airfield (A-89), Belgium, c. 27 October 1944 * Aachen Airfield (Y-46), Germany, 28 March 1945 * Niedermendig Airfield (Y-62), Germany, 8 April 1945 * Kassel-Rothwestern Airfield (R-12), Germany, 21 April 1945 – 15 February 1946 * Bolling Field, District of Columbia, 15 February – 31 March 1946 * Howard Field (later Howard Air Force Base), Panama Canal Zone, 15 October 1946-c. 25 July 1948 * Furstenfeldbruck Air Base, Germany, 13 August 1948 * Bitburg Air Base, Germany, 28 October 1952 * Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, 1 April 1994 – 13 August 2010

Aircraft

* Curtiss XP-37 (1940) * Curtiss P-36 Hawk (1940–1942) * Curtiss P-40 Warhawk (1941, 1942–1943) * Bell P-39 Airacobra (1941–1943) * Republic P-47 Thunderbolt (1943–1945, 1946–1947) * Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star (1947–1950) * Republic F-84 Thunderjet (1950–1953) * North American F-86 Sabre (1953–1956) * North American F-100 Super Sabre (1956–1961) * Republic F-105 Thunderchief (1961–1966) * McDonnell F-4 Phantom II (1966–1977) * McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle (1977–1994) * General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon (1994–2010)

References

; Notes ; Notes

Bibliography

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External links

22d Fighter Squadron Fact Sheet
{{USAF Bases in Germany 022 022